Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Miss Frisenda Homework - Alfred Hitchcock


Sir Alfred joseph Hitchcock was born on 13 august 1899 and died on the 29 April 1980. He was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. Some of the films he made were ‘the man who knew too much’ (1924) ‘murder!’ (1930) ‘psycho’ (1960) and his last film ‘family plot’ (1976).

Hitchcock is very well known for his silent films in which he perfected his use of camera styles such as using the camera to move in a way that mimics a person’s gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism.

He made more than 50 feature films in hi six decades of directing, often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, ‘British daily telegraph- unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands. Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema which would be utterly different without him. His flair was narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else’.

In film criticism, auteur theory holds that a directors film reflects the directors personal creative vision, as of they were the primary auteur.

‘Alfred Hitchcock is one of the first names that comes to mind when talking about auteur theory. His most famous films are vertigo, psycho, the birds and rear window. Hitchcock’s story telling techniques were renowned for their intelligent plots, witty dialogue and the smattering of mystery and murder. He has been attributed with revolutionizing the thriller genre. The reason for his success, however, was not the genre that he was working in but rather the skill which he exhibited in the film-making. Ie, his treatment of the subject in terms of the shots he uses and how he combines them are more important than the genre. One of Hitchcock’s best known screen moments is the terrifying shower scene in psycho. This show features 70 distinct shots in less than 1 minute. They are fused together in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish between the montage and the mise-en-scene.

1 comment:

  1. Rhianna - THIS MUST BE WRIITEN IN YOUR OWN WORDS! Please re-write as there is fantastic information here that you can use. You must also show your understanding of his auteur status by referring to a particular scene from one of his films.

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